Error: timeout – async function did not complete within 5000ms (set by jasmine.default_timeout_interval)

When executing asynchronous functions in JavaScript using frameworks like Jasmine, there is a default timeout interval set to ensure that the function completes within a certain amount of time. In this case, the error message “timeout – async function did not complete within 5000ms (set by jasmine.default_timeout_interval)” is indicating that the async function took longer than 5000 milliseconds (5 seconds) to complete.

Asynchronous functions are typically used for tasks that may take longer to execute, such as making API requests or waiting for user input. To handle these functions properly and avoid such errors, you can either optimize the function to complete within the default timeout interval or increase the timeout interval to allow for a longer execution time.

Here are a few examples to explain this error and possible solutions:

1. Example 1 – Optimizing the function:

   async function fetchData() {
     // Simulating an API request
     await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 4000));
     return 'Data fetched successfully';
   }
     
   it('should fetch data within the default timeout interval', async () => {
     const data = await fetchData();
     expect(data).toBe('Data fetched successfully');
   });
           

   In this example, the fetchData function simulates an API request by using a setTimeout of 4000 milliseconds (4 seconds). As long as the execution time of the fetchData function remains below the default timeout interval of 5000 milliseconds, the test case will pass without any errors.

2. Example 2 – Increasing the timeout interval:

   async function fetchData() {
     // Simulating a time-consuming task
     await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 7000));
     return 'Data fetched successfully';
   }
     
   it('should fetch data within an increased timeout interval', async () => {
     const data = await fetchData();
     expect(data).toBe('Data fetched successfully');
   }, 10000); // Set a timeout of 10000 milliseconds (10 seconds)
           

   In this example, the fetchData function takes 7000 milliseconds (7 seconds) to complete, exceeding the default timeout interval of 5000 milliseconds. To avoid the timeout error, the timeout interval for the test case is increased to 10000 milliseconds (10 seconds). With the increased timeout, the test case will wait for the fetchData function to complete successfully.

By optimizing the async function or adjusting the timeout interval, you can handle the “timeout – async function did not complete within XXXXms” error effectively.